Course Challenge Option

Students may enter the university already possessing the skills or knowledge taught in a particular university course. If such a course is required or is a prerequisite for other courses, and if the students can prove to the satisfaction of the department offering the course that they indeed possess the skills or knowledge in question, the requirement will be waived or the students will be placed in the course for which they qualify, without receiving credit for the prerequisite or required course.

In unusual cases, academic departments may be willing to grant college credit for a given course to students who can demonstrate prior knowledge of the course materials or skills. The course in question will not be one in which the classroom process itself is an important focus, as it is in courses dependent on small group discussion or problem-solving, computer work, laboratory experiments, group projects, and the like. To “challenge” a suitable course by demonstrating that one can pass the course without taking it, a student must first apply to the chairperson of the department offering the course. The application should include a detailed description of the manner in which the student has already met the goals and objectives of the course. If the chairperson deems the course available for challenge and if he or she believes the student’s application to have merit, the department will determine the manner in which the student is to demonstrate his or her knowledge and/or proficiency. If, in the department’s opinion, the student’s performance is adequate, the chairperson will recommend to the Registrar that the student be awarded credit for the course. No grade will be given, and the student’s quality point average will not be affected.